


Kintsukuroi

by parigol



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I am a sucker for enemies to friends to lovers okay, IT IS MY FAVORITE TROPE, Light Angst, NO BETA WE DIE FROM CABAL DROP PODS, Season of the Hunt, Spider is a jerk, Spider is still a jerk, Temporary Guardian Death (Destiny)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28748787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parigol/pseuds/parigol
Summary: "I've heard that before the Collapse, there used to be an art. It took broken things and put them back together with precious metals. It made something new and beautiful out of something that would have just been thrown away."Lilianna hasn't really heard much of kinstugi before, but the way Crow describes it feels as though he's describing himself... even if he's not fully aware of the connection. A man twisted and broken by the force of Darkness, only to be brought back to life by its antheses, the Traveler. It's Light filling and softening the jagged edges that once were Prince Uldren Sov to give life to Crow. A New Light with a beautiful heart.
Relationships: Female Guardian & Ghost (Destiny), Female Guardian/Crow
Comments: 12
Kudos: 36





	1. Fate's Cruel Sense of Humor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written fanfic in ages. I also haven't played Destiny in over a year or so, so I am currently running missions from Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and Season of the Hunt off and on all at the same time. But I just adore Crow and wanted to share my love for him, for my Guardian, and for the Destiny universe as a whole.

Lilianna growled as she chased after the High Celebrant into the Harbinger's Seclude. It was honestly beginning to feel like it was playing with them at this point. Popping in and out onto one ledge and then another, roaring taunts all along the way. The Warlock cursed under her breath as she leapt into the air, gliding down over the stairs to try and keep pace with the monstrous Hive Knight. Just when she thought she had it, the damn thing vanished into a portal before Lily could fire another shot. "Oh come on," she whined as a pissed off Wrathborn Ogre filled the space previously occupied by the Celebrant. In her ear Ori, her Ghost, chimed with concern, "It stopped bleeding energy! We can't get through!"

Glint clicked in, "I think the Celebrant realized we marked it. It sealed the portal behind itself." Lily's heart skipped at the anxious tone in Crow's questioning, "We're trapped in here?"

No, she wouldn't let that happen.

Tossing a Stasis grenade at the Wrathborn's feet, Lily took advantage of the slowing effects of her magic to sling her bow onto her back, and pull out her auto rifle. Aiming for the Ogre's massive head she pulled hard on the trigger, holding it down until the clip ran empty. The Warlock let loose a shout as the glittering blue-black space of Stasis energy dimmed and blinked out of existence. With a growl she thrust her right hand out and focused on her connection to the Darkness, forging it into a short staff to hurl a shard of Stasis at the once again rampaging monster. Using the brief reprieve of her target icing over, Lily quickly slammed in a new clip as the Wrathborn struggled against the freezing grasp of her melee ability. Halfway through those rounds the monster roared in pain, green-yellow ichor oozing from the multitude of bullet wounds that peppered its rancid looking flesh.

"If your companions are trapped in the Ascendant Plane with the Celebrant..." Osiris reported, his voice grating on Lily's already incredibly thin patience, "-then they are already lost. Like Sagira."

"No, not yet," she snapped back while looking around for any sort of rip or tear that might get her into that other realm. Like hell was she going to let the Celebrant take another friend from her. "The portal closed, but maybe there's enough Hive magic left in the lure to activate some other way through?" Ori suggested, his voice a steadying calm among the flurry of panic filling his Guardian's mind. Lily snapped to action as she dragged the lure back out and slammed it into the ground with a grunt. With the loud, rapid whirring clicks of machinery power up, she barely had to wait longer than two seconds before the now all too familiar bright, green-yellow Wrathborn ooze appeared lit up on her visor. "It's working," Lily cried out in relief, running towards the towering statue on the balcony where she could see the dark, swirling portal to the Ascendant Plane hovering above its head. She leapt into the air before pulling on her abilities to jump once again, but even with all her strength she couldn't get close enough. Skipping back a few steps, Lily sprinted forward, hoping the distance would give her enough momentum to make it. As her body slammed against the cold marble of the statue, she attempted to find some edge to dig her fingers into, but the smooth stone gave her nothing. As she started to look around for a way up, Crow's voice filled the comm link and brought her to a standstill.

"I hope you can hear this. The Celebrant turned it around on us - the hunter becomes the hunted." His voice was starting to sound weary. Tired. Lily's eyes caught site of the trail in the air, almost as if... "I wanted to..." She paused the hand rummaging in her pack for a vial of Queensfoil, her heart thudding heavily in her chest. "Listen, if things get ugly for us in here, just know it's not your fault. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. Thank you. For letting me have a choice."

Before the off click of the comm sounded Lily tossed back a vial of tincture and shuddered as the dark, viscous liquid slid down her throat and settled almost uncomfortably in her stomach. One breath there's nothing, the next she can see the floating pieces of pathway hovering carelessly in the air. "Hang tight, we're on our way." Running and leaping from one chunk of marbled stone to the next, Lily scrambled her way up into the air. If someone had told her a couple of months ago she would be in a panic over saving the reborn, Lightbearing, amnesiac Prince Uldren Sov, and his charming Ghost Glint, who had become a pair of her best friends, she would have laughed herself to death. Then Ori would have revived her and she would have laughed herself hoarse before threatening to shoot whoever came up with such an outlandish idea.

Not that she would actually shoot them. She wasn't that kind of Guardian.

At least... not usually.

Of course, there was nothing funny about anything happening at this moment. Her very dear and extremely precious friends were in danger. She would not let Xivu Arath, or any damn Hive, Fallen, Vex, Cabal, Taken for that matter, claim another friend of hers. Not as long as she was around to stop them. 

Leaping into the dark, swirling void of the Ascendant Plane, Lily thought back to when this all started. As she shouted for Crow among the rushing wind, and cacophony of whispered voices, she felt each racing thud of her heart against her ribs with each second that passed and he didn't answer. She vaguely registered Ori calling out to Glint, his voice worried and harried as he kept asking if the other pair could read them.

Thinking back on their first real interaction together, Lily never would have imagined just how important Crow would become to her. How much she would come to care about him. As she jumped from one floating piece of rock to another, she let her mind wander along the path of her memories. To when they first met.

\-----------------------------------------

Lily jogged into the room, her breath heavy on the exhale. Standing above was Osiris, gun in hand, looking surprisingly relieved to see her. Not that he would ever admit to that openly. 

"You're here. Finally." 

The younger Guardian rolled her eyes. Only Osiris would act like her taking longer than a minute or two to fight through a hoard of Hive, not to mention hopping in and out of the Ascendant Plane, to be an inconvenience."Is it done? I'll come down to y-Oh!"

It happened so quickly, she didn't have time to shout a warning. Ori, ever a second ahead of her in processing things, called out before her, "Osiris!" The alarm in his voice matched her own as they witnessed the Hive Knight suddenly appear and back hand the older Warlock to the ground. Lily raised her rifle up already knowing it would be useless, but not willing to give up all the same. Maybe a bullet through one of its three eyes would at least give it pause?

Except someone else beat her to the punch or, well, stab in this case, as a long, dark blade pierced the Knight through its bony chest. As the Hive's own sword clattered to the ground, Lily was finally able to see the cloaked figure standing behind where the Knight previously stood. Before she could call out to the stranger, their Ghost materialized in the air beside thiem.

A fellow Guardian then. That was good.

"We warned you it was going to be dangerous down here! Especially for the Ghostless," it scolded, shell rotating and moving in ways Lily was familiar with from Ori. He had plenty of practice with scolding her after all. She couldn't fight the half-smirk that formed at Osiris being lectured by a stranger's Ghost. Especially because said Ghost was absolutely right.

"I'm..." it started again, sounding almost embarrassed by its own outburst."I'm glad to see we're all okay though." Lily's smirk morphed into a smile at the Ghost's sweetness. Honestly, she loved meeting other Ghosts. It was always interesting to see their unique personalities. Especially when they weren't as sassy as her own little Ori tended to be. 

"Oh, I'm Glint by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Glint continued, giving a little bob in the air. The Ghost version of a bow. Lily watched him float closer to his Guardian. Turning her gaze upon the stranger it was then she registered the unmistakable sigil of The Spider on their cloak. "Go on," Glint chirped. "Introduce yourself!"

"They call me..." Lily's heart suddenly plummeted into her stomach, splashing bile up into her throat. ' _That voice. It couldn't... Surely the Traveler wasn't **this** desperate?!'_ She could feel Ori's gaze on her as he seemed to jump to the same conclusion. "...The Crow. My boss wants to see you."

Glowing yellow eyes settled on Lily and her breath got stuck in her throat. Ori looked ready to fall out of the air himself, but managed to utter a soft, "Impossible..." before Osiris finally pushed himself up off the ground.

"Well now," the Warlock gave a cough, rubbing the already bruised cheek the Knight had struck. "This is certainly now how I expected these events to turn out." 

It took every fibre in Lilianna's being to not utter the ' _No shit!'_ that formed on her tongue. With an uneasy swallow, she picked up Osiris' gun and jumped up to the platform to hold it out to him. Crow and Glint had already begun to make their way towards the exit after informing the two Warlocks that Spider "requested" an audience with Osiris. Not that that was going to happen with the older Warlock's current state of Ghostlessness.

"You can say that again," Lily finally managed; anger, grief, and uncertainty building in her guts. "Guess _we're_ going to be the ones to see Spider again, huh?" Ori questioned, the front half of his shell twisting counter clockwise - the telltale sign of unhappiness in her partner. Working with Spider in the past had been more of a means to an end. With the Shore under his thumb, he had started pushing the sticky webbed boundaries of his territory out more and more lately. The stories she heard from others about his new enforcer hadn't been good ones.

"Yeah, I guess so," she finally answered back, her tone a lot more tired than she intended it to sound. "First we gotta get make sure Osiris gets back to the Tower in one piece."

"I am right here, Guardian. No need to speak as if I'm not," Osiris sniped back, arms folding over his chest. Oh. It seemed she struck a nerve. ' _Good_ ,' Lily thought as she slung her own rifle over her shoulder. Because he had just gotten her roped up into Traveler knows what. "Let's get going then."

\----------------------------------------

"What's this? I told you to bring the Warlock, Osiris, not just any old Warlock. Explain yourself," Spider barked, tone clearly annoyed by the fact it was Lilianna standing before him and not Osiris. Lily sucked in a sharp breath, eyes narrowing at Spider's claim that she was merely " _just any old Warlock."_

_'What does Spider even want with Osiris?"_ Lily let that thought slip through the neural link she shared with Ori, curious what her Ghost's thoughts on their current situation were. ' _My guess? Something related to the High Celebrant. I doubt it was mere coincidence Crow and Glint were on the Moon looking for Osiris at the same time we were. The more interesting question is why does Spider care about it?'_ At Ori's mention of the other Guardian and Ghost duo in the room, her gaze slipped to the left to look at them while keeping her head facing forward. There would probably never come a time that Lily wasn't glad to have a helmet mask her true emotions at any given time.

"Osiris..." the Awoken started, an almost nervous tremble to his voice. Lily caught a quick glimpse of Glint peeking out from behind the edge of his Guardian's hood.

"...lost his Ghost," Ori chimed in, as if acting on the brief flicker of pity that flickered to life in Lily's mind. "He's gone back to the Tower to recover."

"So, you've got us instead." 

Lily finally decided to join in the conversation proper, crossing her arms over her chest in a silent dare to Spider to find any problems with that. Her tone feigned disinterest even as her natural curiosity was threatening to overflow. Spider gave a deep chuckle before making a quip about Guardian's being "fragile killers." While her initial instinct was to deny such a thing, she knew deep down it was true. At least for her. Lily shifted her weight from one foot to another in discomfort.

The Warlock barely heard the back forth of Ori, Crow and Spider in the background, her attention hyper focused on watching Crow. Taking in his reactions, his mannerisms, looking for any sign of the once deranged, cruel Prince that should be there. Her focus snapped back into place at hearing the hulking Eliksni Baron refer to said ex-Prince as 'little bird.' Lily pretended to sneeze to try and hide the amused snort that slipped out at hearing the nickname. Although the look Crow gave her all but told her that he noticed.

"Now then," Spider broke through the awkward quiet that had settled. Lily refocused her attention on the Fallen Mafioso. "...perhaps we can help each other out, eh? I know how accomplished you are at exacting revenge." He huffed out an amused sounding breath at that particular assessment. ' _Good to hear the irony of this whole situation isn't lost on him,'_ Lily sent to Ori who only sent back a humming sound of agreement.

After all, the Warlock had certainly believed she had successfully gotten her revenge. Except now the focus of said revenge was back, alive and kicking as a new Lightbearer of all things. There was so much about this situation that _wasn't_ funny that it seemed to have no choice, but to become cosmically comical. A small part of her felt quite sure that even Cayde would have found this hilarious. The arrogant, Guardian-hating Awoken Prince, driven to madness by the Darkness, remade by the Traveler's Light into one of the very things he despised. Add on that he was now apparently a servant of the very same Baron who had assisted Lily and Petra in bringing him down.

Ikora and Zavala, on the other hand, would not find _any_ element of this situation funny. Which brought up an important notion. How would she explain this to them?

Spider continued on, airing out his grievances about how these strange cryptoliths and the Wrathborn they created were hurting his business. ' _Well, that answers things. Honestly, I should have known it was a business matter,_ _'_ Ori clicked into the link, the flaps of his shell twitching a bit in non-surprise. What actually caught Lily off guard was his sudden dismissal of Crow. She watched him give a bow of his head, before disappearing around a side corner she hadn't really noticed in all her visits before. Once he was out of sight, Spider began to recount how he came across the New Light. 

"I found him wandering the Reff like a piece of wind-blown trash. Aimless. Hopeless. No memory of the Prince he was." 

' _That sounds awfully familiar,'_ Lily commented quietly to Ori who turned his brilliant blue eye to meet her own. The Ghost gave a short, almost unnoticeable bob in the air in agreement. She, like her fellow Risen, held no memories of her past life before Ori found and revived her. That initial surge of Light through her body revitalized and made her anew in just about every way. It suddenly hit her that she hadn't stopped to truly consider that particular aspect with Uldren. Really, the biggest difference between them was that Lily's previous self had been dead and gone for a long while before Ori discovered her. No one from that life was still around to know her or any of things she might have done. What if she had been a murderous, vile piece of shit human before her death? What if she had been murdered and left to rot?

' _You weren't,'_ Ori replied, letting her know her thoughts and emotions were leaking through their shared connection. ' _At least, I don't have reason to believe such a thing. You were surrounded by so many others who died like you had. It is highly more likely you perished trying to escape during the Collapse.'_

_'Doesn't prove I didn't do any horrible shit though,'_ Lily countered before returning her attention fully to Spider. "As far as his loyalty is concerned, I took a few extra precautions and made some... _modifications_ to his Ghost's shell. Now, if he ever flies too far from the nest? Boom." The soft snicker that followed that one word sent an icy chill down Lilianna's spine. In the corner of her eye she caught Ori's own shell spinning in jerky, little angry motions. The Warlock always knew Spider as an opportunistic jackass, but planting explosives into a Ghost's shell? It was a line Lily had never needed to consider drawing before. Now, however, it was painted in a broad, red stroke and the Spider stood far over the wrong side of it.

It was hard to listen to the rest of what Spider had to say, but she grit her teeth and bared it. Despite her better judgement, and Ori's own disapproval, Lily agreed to work with the Spider, and by association, with the Crow. Each step Lily took towards that once unnoticed hallway of Spider's lair was a heavy one. Turning the corner she found Crow waiting for her, a look of anxious uncertainty on his face. It was... unsettling. She had grown so used to only seeing contempt, disdain, rage or insanity on the Awoken's face. Once again she was glad to have her helmet to hide her own expressions. Especially since Ori often commented on how easily his Guardian wore her emotions right on her sleeve.

_"I always say your face. It makes no sense to talk about wearing your heart or feelings on your sleeve,'_ Ori countered as he floated from her left shoulder over to her right to mirror Glint's position. After a very awkward moment of silence, Crow cleared his throat and began to go over what would need to be done to take down Xivu Arath's High Celebrant. 

Hearing the way his voice faltered, how his tone shifted to reveal how upset that Celebrant's methods of "recruiting" made him... Lily couldn't fully wrap her head around it. Crow wore Uldren's face, moved with his body, but with none of the malice, no aggressiveness, not even an ounce of proud swagger Uldren was known for having. Crow was calm, a little soft-spoken, but empathetic in tone when he spoke about how the Lure would drive the Wrathborn crazy. How it was mostly Eliksni being targeted outside of the Hive. 

' _He wears his feelings on his face just like you.'_

Lily clenched her teeth as she came to the same realization as Ori. She didn't know how to properly handle all this new information.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's... nice to be working with another Lightbearer." 

That hesitant admittance, as if he was afraid of her possible reaction, struck Lililanna like a Fallen Captain's four fists to the face. Nothing in her short, but long-felt life could have prepared her for any of this. She stood there, transfixed by Crow and just how pleadingly expectant his eyes looked. Like a child waiting for their parent's approval on their latest art project. ' _Are you going to say anything? Or just keep staring him down?'_ Ori chimed while gently bumping his shell against his Guardian's helmet.

"Oh! Uhm, yes, I uh, I'm sure we'll make a, er, good team?" The Warlock stumbled over her words, her brain still trying to find its way through the soupy fog of her mixed and volatile emotions. She could feel heat on her cheeks at making the already awkwardly tense atmosphere even more awkward and tense. If Crow found her behavior odd, he was better at hiding it then she would have been, because he simply gave Lily a half-smile before turning toward the workbench behind him. He carefully picked up the Lure and carried it over to Lily, holding it out to her. With equal gingerness, she took possession of the strange object, looking it over and finding herself impressed at the workmanship behind it.

"You'll need to charge it up first," Crow explained, going over the next steps with Lily, expression serious and determined as he spoke. It was hard to concentrate at times, as Lily kept half-expecting him to drop the act and pull a blade or hand cannon on her. Any time he moved too quickly she had to stomp down the instinct to grab her own weapon or slam a hand of arc energy into his chest.

"Got all of that?" he asked, head tilted and eyebrows raised in a way that made him look more like a curious puppy, then the megalomaniac she used to know.

"Yeah," Lily replied, hugging the Lure to her chest, the metal of its shell clinking against her armor. "I think I got it. Once it's all charged up I'll let you know?"

"Exactly. Then I'll show you how to use the Lure to attract the Wrathborn to the cryptoliths. There is one already here on the Shore and I believe another on the outskirts of the Dreaming City. There could be others elsewhere we haven't found yet of course."

"Cool, cool, cool, sounds, uh, great! I'll, er, I'll just head out and get this baby all ready to go then."

Before Crow could say anything else, Lily gave an awkward bow of her head and quickly ducked out of the room and began making her way out of Spider's Lair. It wasn't until she stepped onto the transmat zone and was alone, back on her ship, that it felt safe to let loose the scream she had been holding in.

"That seems a little dramatic," Ori quipped, materializing in front of her. His shell flaps lifted up, exposing his inner core a bit. 

"Oh, really?" Lily huffed in frustration. "Should I be jumping up and down giggling in glee instead? Or maybe I should have given him a hug? How do you honestly expect me to feel right now? Uldren is, was, UGHHHH, I don't even know how to word this shit! He killed Cayde, Ori! Killed so many other innocent people, and the _Traveler_ decides _HE_ of all people gets another shot?!?"

Lily pushes herself up and out of her chair, her body restless and demanding to be in motion, nerves firing rapidly in response to her whirlwind of emotions coursing through her. Tugging off her helmet she promptly cucked it into a corner, the loud **KLANG** of metal on metal ringing and echoing through the otherwise quiet cockpit. 

"We Ghosts don't have a say in who we're meant to bring back," Ori reminded, voice gentle as he floated over to Lilianna, "Once we scan the person we are meant to be with, that's that. Just like how _you_ were destined to be my Guardian, Crow was destined for Glint."

The Warlock glowered half-heartedly at the little floating machine bobbing in front of her. Ori was more than just a friend or companion. He was like a soul mate. One that shared in all her victories, her losses, her happiness and her pain. When she felt lost he was there to guide her, ever the warm shining Light in what sometimes felt like a dark void. Lily couldn't imagine not having him in her life and despite all the hardship they had faced so far, she would be forever grateful he had chosen her. Or rather, had been chosen for her. Still...

She always hated when he was right about something she didn't like.

" _And,_ just like you, any memories of his previous life are gone. He is no longer Uldren Sov. Just as you're not who you were before you died. This is a brand new life, a brand new start for him. He will need help, guidance, to become a proper Guardian and Lightbearer. You know what it's like to start out all alone. To have to learn how to properly wield your Light and to be..." Ori's voice trailed off for a moment before he spoke again, softly, floating down to gently press himself against Lily's cheek. "You know what it's like to be new and pushed aside by other Guardians."

Slumping down to the floor, Lily brought a hand up to gently run her fingers along Ori's shell; the warmth from his Light ever reassuring and comforting. "I... I remember," she murmured, letting silence settle over them both. They sat like that for a good few minutes, Lily lost in thought and Ori knowing when to give her the quiet time she needed to sort through things. Finally, she sucked in a breath, loudly, and sighed in resignation. "Okay, I'll keep my mind open and... try to not think of him as Uldren, but as, well, Crow I guess. His heart _does_ seem to be in a more... good place this time around."

"I imagine it will stay like that if he has a nice, patient, kind-hearted Guardian to show him the way," Ori claimed, pressing himself a little harder into his Guardian's cheek. She barked out a laugh in response as she pushed herself back up to her feet. "Then we better start looking for one who has all those things," Lily joked, flashing a smile at her partner. "Seriously though, do you think I'm really the right one for this? I mean... It was _my_ hand that pulled the trigger and took his first life. If he knew, do you think he'd be this willing to work with me?"

"Hmm..." the Ghost clicked a bit in thought, blue eye flashing a little as he worked through Lily's question in earnest. "It is honestly hard to say, but... something in my core tells me he would. It's the same something that tells me you would work with him if your roles were reversed."

"Fair enough," Lily agreed, flopping back down into the pilot's chair and tapping her fingers on the ship's console to fire _The Delilah_ up. "Let's start by checking in with Osiris and sharing what we've learned. Then we'll get cracking on charging up that Lure." 

_'And pray to the Light this isn't some huge, terrible mistake.'_

"I feel confident saying it's not, nor will it be," Ori replied out loud in response to Lily's leaked thought. Pursing her lips she pulled on _Delilah's_ controls and sent the ship flying forward, causing Ori to tumble in the air a bit and shouting out a surprised "Hey!" before dematerializing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love and appreciate you for giving my story a chance! Would also like to give a shout out to my boyfriend who doesn't know I'm writing this, but does graciously tag along as I continue to do Wrathborn hunts just to hear all of Crow's dialog.


	2. The First Hunt - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments on the first chapter! I am so thrilled to see my little fic being enjoyed. I hope chapter 2 here lives up to the first!
> 
> Update: 1/24 - I ended up tweaking the last scene a bit after rereading it some more last night and realizing it didn't fit the way I originally envisioned it. Maybe I should think about finding a beta hahaha.

Lily's next visit to the Shore was with a now fully charged Lure and an understanding. Osiris, and Spider too, had compelled her to keep Crow's true identity from himself. And from the rest of the Vanguard for that matter. Thankfully, Osiris was willing to assist her on that particular task. He had already told Ikora and Zavala about their discovery of the cryptoliths and Wrathborn, and how Lily would be personally assisting him in putting a stop to Xivu Arath's new threat. When asked why he denied additional assistance, Osiris smoothly lied saying that the Lure was a unique device and not one that could be replicated. 

Zavala did not hide his reluctant acceptance of this set-up. He had been keeping a particularly close eye on Lilianna since her first trek into the Pyramid Ship. Add her more recent work with Elsie and Stasis into the mix and Lily was essentially on the Titan Vanguard's shitlist for all eternity. While it hurt a bit that he didn't trust her decision to attempt wielding the Darkness, she understood his fear of it. 

She honestly still feared it quite a bit herself. 

"You are still assisting with the threat of Eramis on Europa," Zavala had argued. "There must be another Guardian who could work with Osiris in this endeavor."

"No," Osiris bit back, tone sharp as if daring Zavala to defy him on this particular matter. "It has to be her. I will not trust anyone else to avenge Sagira in place of myself."

That had been the line to shut the whole debate down. When Zavala had looked to Ikora for input she gave a small shrug of her shoulders before agreeing with Osiris and adding, "If Lilianna feels she can balance these tasks I see no reason why not to let her take them on. I feel confident that if she does require additional assistance she will reach out and request it. Right, Guardian?"

"Of course, Ikora," Lily had quickly agreed, dying to be free of the almost claustrophobic tension currently pressing all around her in Zavala's office. Ori had jokingly offered to turn on Shax's mix tape to create a distraction, but the young Warlock didn't want to risk pushing herself to the absolute top of Zavala's shitlist. Maybe after all this settled down she could find a way to get off it completely. Ori said nothing in response to that.

"You know Zavala and Ikora are just worried about your well being," Ori stated, materializing in front of Lily after transmatting them down to the Shore. She sighed softly, wishing she could somehow pinch the bridge of her nose through her helmet. "I know, I _know._ I just wish I didn't have to hide all of this from them. Or from Alya and Teddy. They're starting to ask questions too, you know."

Thinking of her fire team made her shoulders droop a bit. Alya had been understandingly upset when Lilianna had informed her she would be unavailable for any upcoming missions for an unknown amount of time. When she further explained to the Awoken Hunter that they couldn't assist her on this new job with Osiris she had grown even more displeased. While Lily knew in her heart she wouldn't kick her out form their little makeshift family, she still worried all the same.

"Teddy would never let her," Ori reassured, giving his partner a gentle tap to her shoulder. "Maybe in time we'll be able to tell them all the truth. If we're able to take down the High Celebrant successfully with Crow's help, that will put him a really good light! Add on that he has been personally trained by Osiris and you... Hmm... Actually, that might make his position worse."

"Hey!" Lily gave the Ghost a little swat, brushing him away from her shoulder. She knew he was just joking to try and lighten the mood, but it instead just fed her already growing doubts and fears. "Let's not get even that ahead of ourselves. I still don't fully trust him."

"Lily, what did we talk about?"

"That he's like a new baby bird and I should be nice," Lily replied, lowering her voice to mimic her Ghost's voice.

"That... that isn't what I said at all!" he shot back, tone laced with indignation. 

"Eh, I summarized."

" _Lilianna._ "

"Okay, okay! Listen, I know _exactly_ what we talked about, but that doesn't mean I can just switch off my feelings! Like, logically? I get it. It all makes sense. But I _literally_ can't control the way my stomach clenches when I see him," Lily argued, gaze settling on the entrance to Spider's Lair.

"Fair enough," Ori conceded, a rare feat for the seemingly know-it-all Ghost. "Maybe try to get to know him a bit this time?"

Lily exhaled a loud sigh, "Fine, I'll try."

"That's my Guardian!" The Ghost chirped, his shell twisting in a happy little motion as he bobbed through the air before dematerializing. 

Walking down the corridors of Spider's Lair, Lily gave the hulking Eliksni a polite nod of her head before making her way into Crow's cluttered little workshop. She was definitely not up to having any sort of chit-chat with the Shore's Baron. There was enough crap on her plate as it was. No need for more of his. As she stepped around the corner, she spotted Crow bent over his workbench, hands moving carefully to pour some blue looking fluid into a round canister. 

Lily waited until he had put the containers down before clearing her throat. 

"Ack!" Crow gasped out at the noise and quickly spun around to face Lily, clearly startled by her seemingly sudden appearance. His wide, yellow eyes squeezed shut at the sound of glass shattering against the floor. Lily cringed a bit and moved her hands out in a placating motion.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to spook you like that," she apologized before moving to help clean up the mess she created. Crow gave a dismissive wave of his hand as he knelt down to do it himself. Lily caught a bit of purple on his cheeks before he turned his attention to the broken glass.

"It is alright. I'm sorry for not hearing you enter. I hope you weren't waiting there too long."

"Nah, not really. Uhm, anyways! I brought your Lure thingy back. Pretty sure it's all charged up like you wanted." Lily had Ori transmat the Lure down into her hands. She held the Hive contraption out to him once he was done cleaning up the mess. 

"Heh, you have perfect timing actually," Crow stated, the little laugh catching her off guard. "I was just putting together some additional modifications for it." He carefully placed the Lure on the bench and picked up the canister filled with blue liquid. "I believe that with these modifications we can lure out different types of Wrathborne. Help us work our way up the Celebrant's chain of command.."

He motioned for Lily to move in closer and proceeded to walk her through the process of attaching the different Lure mods. She found herself impressed by his skill and ability to explain how the seemingly complicated pieces worked in a way that even _she_ could understand. ' _It's not really **that** difficult to get.'_ Ori mentioned, his mental voice a little smug sounding. Lily ignored his quip and kept her focus on Crow's lesson.

"With how charged up the Lure is, we could hunt down a handful of Wrathborne. Really give the Lure a good test!" The Awoken's tone was filled with obvious excitement, matching the smile he flashed at the Guardian.

' _We?'_ Lily thought before actually asking, "You're going to come hunting with us?"

Crow's cheerful expression fell a bit, the smile fading and his brows furrowing somewhat in uncertainty, "Well... I, ah, I had assumed I would join you. I was clearly wrong in making that assumption. Apologies."

Great. Just great. It felt like she had just run up and smacked a tasty cone of ice cream out of his hands. Ori mentally nudged against her, ' _Remember what you promised me?_ _'_

' _I don't know if going on a hunt together is the best way to-'_

_'It is the **perfect** way to get to know him. It would be a great learning opportunity for him too! To see how a Guardian fights and wields their Light. Besides, w_ _hat happens if you break the Lure? Or need some back-up?'_ Lily couldn't deny that the odds of her damaging the Lure were exponentially high. ' _You **do** tend to handle things more like a Titan than a Warlock.'_ Ori confirmed, laughing over their shared link as Lily sighed mentally and sent a feeling of reluctant agreement back to him in response.

"Sorry, sorry, that came out wrong. I had assumed you wouldn't be interested in coming along and doing the dirty work with me. Clearly _I_ am the one who assumed wrong." Lily gave him a smile she knew he couldn't see, but could maybe, hopefully, hear. "I, uhm, I would be more than happy to have you join us. It's always good to have some back-up if things get hairy."

The change in Crow's demeanor was quick. He perked up considerably, smiling at her as he handed the now modified Lure back so she could have Ori transmat it up to _Delilah_ until it would be needed.

"This will be his first time on a mission with another Guardian," Glint suddenly appeared, shell twisting in excitement. Ori floated up a bit closer to the other Ghost, his own shell moving in similar motions, "Is that so?"

"Yes! Usually other Guardians like to fire first and, well, fire second and third sometimes inste-"

"Glint!" Crow hissed, cutting his Ghost off, looking a mixture of embarrassed and hurt. Lily could see his cheeks flushing purple once again, and felt a wave of pity for him. There was little surprise at hearing about how his previous encounters with other Guardians went. After all, her own initial instinct had been to burn another slug into his chest on their first meeting.

And again when speaking one on one the last time.

She was starting to feel some regret over those instincts.

"Don't worry... I only shoot big, ugly, space monsters who shoot at me first," Lily joked, hoping to reassure him. Prove that she was indeed different from the other Guardian's he had encountered so far. There was a flicker of surprised amusement from Ori down their shared link, quickly followed by a pleased sounding little hum. He made a quick little loop around her head before settling back to hovering above her right shoulder.

It seemed to work though as Crow exhaled a shaky laugh and the tension began to dissipate between them. "Guess that means I'll have to work on my aiming then," he joked back, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit from his smile. It was... surprising how much that smile really changed and lit up his features. How it almost made him look like a different person altogether. 

"As long as you don't fire from the hip the way Lily does I think you'll do just fine," Glint added, shell flaps moving up and down in his unique version of laughing. The Warlock shot a hand up to grab onto him, forcing a surprised little "Whoa-oh!" from her partner.

"Ha ha, yes, real funny. You'd almost think you were someone else's Ghost with how mean you are to me."

"It's only funny because it's true though."

"That wasn't an invitation for you to double down on!"

Crow's laugh this time was louder, more clear, It caught the both of them by surprise, but Ori recovered relatively quickly and used the moment of distraction to escape his Guardian's grip. Lily grumbled a bit under her breath and turned to start leaving the workshop.

"Whenever you're done laughing at my expense feel free to join me on the hunt," Lily called, waving a hand dismissively in farewell, although she made sure to keep her tone from sounding _too_ annoyed. She overheard Ori assure Crow that she wasn't actually upset, and not to worry, as she slowed her steps to wait for them around the corner. A moment later Crow was beside her, hood pulled up over the helmet he now sported. As the pair began to make their way towards the lair's exit, Spider called out to them.

"Guardian, do make sure you return my little bird to me in one piece, won't you?" Even though he directed the question to Lily, all of his eyes rested on Crow. She could see the tenseness in the Awoken's posture, how his hands balled into fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. She brought a hand up to clasp Crow's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"No worries there. I'll make sure _Crow_ doesn't steal all the fun from me," Lily shot back, making sure to put a heavy emphasis on the Awoken's name. Giving another squeeze to his shoulder, she turned to continue on their original path and just let the sound of their echoing footsteps fill the silence between them. It wasn't until they were free of the dimly lit lair that Crow spoke.

"Thank you," his voice was soft, a little hesitant. "For using my name back there."

Instead of her stomach clenching up, it was her chest that started to feel tight. Part of her wished the other Guardian could see her face, to see the sympathy in her expression as he replied, "I've been given my fair share of unwanted nicknames through the years. Less so these days, but in my early ones... It sucks." There was a quiet pause between them before Lily remembered something, "I'm sorry I laughed when he said it the other day. I, uhm, I.... I just..."

How did she explain that it was only funny because the idea of someone, let alone it being Spider, calling who she remembered as Prince Uldren "little bird" was comical? Let alone unexpected and not something she thought she would ever hear.

"You don't need to explain, I feel confident I can guess why you originally thought it funny," Crow stated a bit flatly as he began to walk down the main "road" of Thieves Landing. Lily followed after him, her steps quick until she was beside him.

"How did you even get roped up with someone like Spider? He mentioned finding you on the Shore, but why agree to work with him?"

"He offered us... protection. A home when we had none. Glint tried to warn me about him, but I didn't listen. I was..." his voice trailed off for a moment before he paused mid-step, hand lifting up to point across the road. "There's the cryptolith. Grab the Lure and I'll go over how to get it started." Lily just nodded, not wanting to push the other to talk about something that clearly pained him. Besides, much like Crow was able to guess the words she couldn't say, she could guess his.

' _He wanted someplace safe... Where other Guardians couldn't hurt him,'_ Ori said for her and she felt that tightening sensation in her chest once again. While she had been pushed aside, made fun of, and sometimes bullied a bit after being freshly Risen, no one had ever physically harmed her. After Alya and Teddy invited her to their Fireteam no one ever really bothered her again. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to wake up, realizing you're alone and not able to remember anything, but have others recognize you, and they immediately go for the kill. 

' _I wonder how many times Glint had to bring him back because of other Guardians,'_ Lily thought, her mental voice more like a whisper, small and soft.

' _I don't know if either of us truly want to know,'_ Ori whispered back, matching his partner's tone.

Suck in a deep breath, Lily exhaled it slowly before holding her arms out for Ori to transmat the Lure down. Following alongside Crow she listened to his instructions, doing little practice motions to make sure she wouldn't bring the Lure down at the wrong angle and break it in half. Even though he assured her with a soft laugh that that wasn't likely to happen, that the device was quite sturdy, Lily wasn't about to take any chances. 

Finally, it was show time. However, the older Guardian had a nagging question tugging at the front of her mind, "How comfortable are you using your abilities, Crow?"

"I would say I'm a better hand with my weapons than my Light," he admitted, and Lily was confident he was probably blushing purple again. She gave a strong nod of her head, "Okay, then why don't you find a good place to hang back at for now. That way you can properly see the way I use my Light. Sounds good?"

Even though she couldn't see his face just the way he shifted his stance, and his head perked up, more than told Lily how excited he was at this idea. Glint even popped out, shell spinning in a rapid little motion. 

"Sounds very good," Crow agreed, his tone further conveying his excitement.

With that settled Lily waited for Crow to get into place before lifting the Lure above her head. She then slammed it down into the soft, gross mass of growth along the base of the cryptolith. It only took a couple of seconds before a portal opened up and out poured some very pissed off looking Fallen. Including one of Lily's all time favorites.

"Ughhhhhhh why did it have to be a _Servitor_?!" she whined, grabbing onto her favorite combat bow, Trinity Ghoul. 

"What are you complaining about? I thought you _loved_ Servitors?" Ori jested as he began to feed battle information into her HUD.

Lily pulled back on the bow and released it, taking the head off a Dreg, and quickly followed up by taking down a few more. She jumped and danced around the field until the string and limbs of the bow began to crackle with electric arc energy. With a grin she leapt into the air, looking through the site to aim for the heart of the Servitor. The trio or arrows flew through the air, their entire surfaces covered in sparkling blue arc light. Her aim was perfect and they all embedded themselves into the "eye" of the Servitor, unleashing a wave of electric energy across the battlefield. Several Dregs and Vandals fell, but the Servitor appeared unscratched, giving a low, robotic growl before unleashing a barrage of void energy at its attacker.

"What the Hell? How did that not even make a dent?!" Lily swapped her bow for a sword, and rushed the giant mechanical orb only for the blade to bounce back with every swing she made. Growling in frustration, she thrust her hand at it, solar flames licking at her fingertips as she slammed her palm against it's warm, metal exterior. The Servitor whined as it was filled with the energy of her Light, but once the orange glow died down it appeared to have done little damage to the machine. Skipping back a few steps Lily tossed a fusion grenade at it and was further agitated when that too doled out just a smidge of pain.

There was a click in her feed and suddenly Crow's voice filtered through the comm, "On your ten there's a Captain glowing with strange energy, similar to that of the Servitor. Maybe you need to take them out first?"

"Thanks," the Warlock replied, turning and spotting the mentioned Captain. She ran and slid between its legs as it took a stance to fire its scorch cannon at her. Popping up behind it, Lily cleaved the sword through its side and as white ether coated her arms and torso, the ground beneath began to glow an all too familiar greenish yellow color of Hive magic. As it flooded the area around her, she felt a strange, almost uncomfortable itching sensation in her very bones. There was a voice in her head, whispering to her, but she couldn't understand it and something told her she didn't want to.

Especially with how it seemed to tug at the Darkness hidden deep down in her core.

"Ori, I think it's rocket time."

"Coming up!"

A small flash of Light and the sword was gone; in its place appeared a hulking rocket launcher that she quickly hoisted onto a shoulder. Taking aim, she fired a round at the Servitor and it gave a robotic roar of pain. Loading in another round Lily fired on it again, taking out even more lower troops unfortunate enough to be standing near it. Below her the weird energy faded away, the unintelligible voice going with it, and before she could swap the rocket launcher for her bow, the Servitor suddenly took off down a nearby path.

"It fled!" Ori exclaimed, sounding as incredulous as Lily felt.

"Yes, but look at the ground. It's left a trail behind," Glint called out as Crow and him hopped down from their perch nearby.

"Guess that means we better give chase. Ori let's bring out good 'ol Hasli. She would definitely fit the vibe of a hunt."

Ori gave a soft hum in acknowledgement before having one of Lily's personal favorite Sparrows transmatted in front of her. Shaded in the bright reds and blue of Atlantic Rush the Hastilude, with it's shiny little spears attached to the side panels, had been Lilianna's go to since she first laid eyes upon it. Maybe one day Sparrow jousting would actually become a real thing. Hopping on to the seat she was about to turn the thrusters to full speed when she looked over at Crow and saw what was perhaps best described as scraps of old, rusted Sparrows cobbled together into one hulking piece.

"Wha-what is _that?_ " Lily asked, loudly, gesturing up and down the makeshift vehicle. While she missed the way Crow sat up a bit straighter, shoulders bunching up a bit, Ori caught it and whispered her name cautiously into the link.

"It's my Sparrow," Crow replied, tone defensive as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Where did you find a Sparrow like that?" ' _Lily don't...'_

"I didn't find it. I made it."

"Whoa..." Lily's voice trailed off a bit as she got distracted by Ori's continual warning to not be a judgey asshole over Crows cobbled together ride. She mentally pushed him out of their link to gather her own thoughts back together. "That's pretty impressive. Why make your own though? There's plenty of cheap Sparrow models on the marketplace these days."

"Spider considers his.... _protection_ as payment enough for the work I provide. While I sometimes come across bits of glimmer here and there left behind by Guardians who pass through... there are more important uses for that."

It wasn't surprising to hear that Spider was clearly taking advantage of Crow's situation to benefit and make a profit for himself. Lilianna had met some pretty greedy assholes in her time, but Spider always took the cake. 

"Think you can keep up with a Tower made model?" Lily challenged, grinning behind her mask. 

"I honestly can't say as I've never raced against one before," Crows voice was earnest in his assessment and Lily couldn't help the amused snort that escaped her. 

"I'm challenging you to a race, silly." She gave another little laugh at seeing the way Crow perked up.

"Oh! Sure, yes, that sounds... huh? Glint says I should say challenge accepted? Is that the right thing to say?"

"Yes, that is very much the right thing to say."

"Then... challenge accepted!" He exclaimed, clearly excited as he leaned over to grip the handles and give the thrusters a good, loud rev. Lily revved up her own Sparrow as Ori started to count down for them over the comms. However, she was about to give Crow another little lesson.

She was one hundred percent a cheater if given the opportunity. 

When Ori got to 2 she hit the booster on her Sparrow and took off along the Wrathborn's trail, barking out a laugh as Crow yelled out in surprise. "Hey! Ori said when he gets to one is when we go!"

"Sorry not sorry!" Lily called out over the loud humm of her Sparrow's engine. Ori sent a jab of disapproval down the link and she shot back the mental image of her shrugging her shoulders. ' _It's all in good fun, Ori. Chill out.'_

 _'Oh, so you're having fun with him now?'_ Ori asked, unable to fully mask the pride he felt.

' _Just a little.'_ Lily allowed herself to admit.

Just enough to get rid of the stomach clenching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be one chapter, but as I started writing things out and adding to it I realized that I would need to split it or not update this fic for another week or so. My goal is to get a chapter out each weekend in between work and my studies. Fingers crossed I can balance all that haha!
> 
> I also got drunk and told my boyfriend I was writing a Crow fic. He wasn't even remotely surprised.


	3. The First Hunt - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick heads up that if you read the previous chapter before 1/24 I made a change to the ending after the fight against the Servitor.

As the pair of Sparrows raced across the expanse of Four Horn Gulch, Lily let out a whoop of excitement as she hit the booster right on the edge of an outcropping. She quickly smacked the button to release the air stabilizers and rolled Hasli in tight barrel rolls through the air. As the ground neared, she pulled back on the thrusters to even herself out before turning the stabilizers back on. 

Pushing north, she kept her eyes trained on the glowing ooze of the Wrathborn's trail. Now and then she would have to do a quick jolt to the left or the right to dodge oncoming fire from lingering Scorn and Fallen forces. Glancing behind her she saw Crow doing the same just a few short feet from behind her.

' _He's catching up!'_

' _Why are you surprised? The way you run into walls and things he honestly should have passed you miles ago.'_ Ori's tone gave Lily the mental image of his singular eye rolling and his shell shaking in exasperation. 

_'Are you insinuating he's letting me win?'_ Lily accused, her tone jokingly petulant. _'Even after I jumped the count?'_

_'I'm not insinuating. I'm merely stating **facts.'**_

Zipping along a little further found the trail coming to an end just outside of a cave that led into Sjursrest. Lily hopped off her Sparrow, letting Ori transmat it back up to her jump ship. Crow came to a quick, sliding stop just short of where Lily stood. 

"You're pretty good with that thing," she remarked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Crow gave a soft chuckle as he dismounted, "I like to ride around during my downtime between Spider's jobs. He prefers to keep me close unless a job demands sending me elsewhere... so I've had to learn how to entertain myself here."

"You mean you _don't_ enjoy being under his wheezing, ugly, shifty ass _all_ the time? Consider me shocked," Lily quipped with her driest of dry sarcasm. Crow was still and quiet for a moment, as if processing if she was trying to trick him into saying something negative about Spider to report it back to him. Something told her Glint was probably explaining that she wasn't being even remotely serious. The Warlock decided it might be best to just be open and honest in regards to her feelings on Crow's boss.

"Listen," she stepped in closer, standing just in front of him now. "I'll try to make myself as clear on this as possible. I am not a fan of your boss. Never have been honestly. We've worked together in the past, yes, but that's the extent of it. I think he's a greedy, opportunistic jackwagon and if he didn't have his own sort of usefulness I would never do _any_ sort of business with him _or_ for him." Lily felt Ori appear above her shoulder, shell tips wiggling in agreement with his partner.

"I..." she brought a hand up to gently stroke one of those little tips. "I just thought you should know you're free to talk shit about him all you want. I swear on our Light that neither of us will tell anyone else. Least of all him. While it's nice to rely on our Ghost's for venting about stuff that makes us upset, sometimes it's even better to share it with someone else."

Silence fell between them and Lily shifted her weight from one leg to the other while giving Crow a moment to process all she explained. After a somewhat awkward moment he finally gave a nod of his head before asking, "What... what is a jackwagon exactly?"

Well, that certainly wasn't what she expected him to take away from all that. Lily let her shoulders relax and found herself unable to stop the giggle that escaped her as she explained, "It's just a different way to call someone an asshole."

"Technically, it's a slang term for a loser," Ori corrected, shell whirring a bit in his own amusement. "Spend enough time around my Guardian and you too can learn many improper ways to abuse language."

Lily gave Ori a gentle little flick to his shell, "Hey, Teddy says my vocabulary is _colorful_."

"Inappropriately colorful you mean."

"Same difference," she countered before turning her attention back to Crow who now had an excited looking Glint circling around his head. Based on the way the light of his eye was flickering she could tell they were having a private conversation. The Warlock cleared her throat to recapture the other pair's attention. "Anyways, now that that's settled. Ready to bring this hunt to an end? If the Wrathborn is in this cave, there's nowhere for it to run. We've got it cornered at this point."

"Perhaps our best approach would be to have me hang toward the back to prevent it from trying to slip away again?"

Lily gave a nod to Crow's suggestion and double-checked her loadout. As helpful as the rocket launcher had been earlier, she knew this particular area well enough to know space would be tight. She changed it out for one of her favorite swords, the Falling Guillotine. The hulking sword appeared on her back and she gave her shoulders a little roll to adjust to the difference in weight and overall size of the heavy weapon. 

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready." Crow and Glint replied together. 

As they approached the entrance to the final resting place of Sjur Eido they were greeted by a small handful of Fallen forces. Lilianna gave an Arc grenade an underhand toss and as it landed it released a deafening crash of thunder and lightning upon the Dregs and Shanks. A Vandal and Dreg managed to escape the initial blast, but Crow dispatched them with a couple of well aimed shots from his pulse rifle. With the way cleared they dash down the thankfully empty corridor that led deeper into the cavern.

Emerging into the open part of the tomb, a soft gasp escaped Lily at the sight of the monstrous cryptolith filling the center of the room. While she knew she shouldn't be surprised that the Hive would desecrate the resting spot of a fallen warrior, it didn't abate the sickness it made her feel. What _was_ surprising was the lack of a mostly dead Servitor.

"That's weird... the tracks led us right to this spot. Where did it go?"

"Perhaps the High Celebrant was able to recall it back to wherever it's hiding out," Crow offered, his head turning as he looked around the now very cramped cavern. "Try using the lure on the cryptolith here. Maybe it will draw it back out to us."

Lily nodded and once she was standing in front of the weird, gross Hive abomination it took only a moment for the lure to appear in her outstretched arms. She lifted it up once again and with a grunt, brought it down hard on the mass of roots near the base. A second later the sound of mechanical cries filled and echoed through the chamber. Lily took a few careful skips backwards and took hold of her bow to line up a shot. 

The Servitor appeared just as bloodied and angry as it had left, and she wasted no time firing arrow after arrow into it. With each hit the floating automaton wailed with pain before finally falling and exploding into chunks of metal, sending shrapnel flying in various directions. Lily grinned and turned to look back at Crow to tell him how easy that was when another portal ripped open behind the cryptolith.

"Looks like those death keels summoned more Wrathborn," Crow shouted, sliding behind a tall, jagged rock. Lily dived for cover as well, not wanting to be fully exposed until she could see who their next opponent was. Her heart raced with adrenaline as she peeked around an edge.

"Is that an... Archon?"

"No, it's not. I... recognize this one. We crossed paths before," Crow explained, an unexpected tightness to his voice. There would be time for questions after they dealt with this new threat. Lilianna sucked in a deep breath, exhaling slowly through her nose to try and steady her pulse before jumping out from behind her cover.

Bow raised, she fired a trio of arrows into the hulking Eliksni. Much like with the Servitor earlier, they bounced almost harmlessly off the overshield the Wrathborn projected. Diving back behind a different pile of stone, she called out to Crow, "Tell me if you spot more of those weird ones like from before."

"You mean the ones that are oozing with Wrathborn energy?"

"Those would be the ones. I'm getting the feeling that my attacks aren't gonna do shit unless I'm standing in that crap."

"There's one moving towards your one o'clock."

Lily grinned, changing bow for sword, "Perfect." With a yell she leapt to the side and spotted the Captain Crow had marked. Pulling on her light she slammed a fist full of Arc energy into its face before launching a series of strikes with her sword. Three hits in her opponent fell with a gurgling growl.

Just like before yellow-green energy spilled over the floor, washing over her boots and up to her calves. Feeling that itchiness, and hearing that whispered voice, Lily clenched her teeth as she saw the Archon looking not-Archon approach her, laughing with delirious excitement as it fired shot after shot from its shrapnel launcher. Its rapid chittering grated on Lilianna's ears and she chucked an Arc grenade at the Wrathborn leader's feet, filling the chamber with flashes of blue and white energy. The truly fallen Eliksni let out a roar and Lily used her own made distraction to leap towards it, spinning her sword in a circle to slash it multiple times against its armored torso.

High-pitched, pained screeches erupted from it as Lily felt the itchy sensation in her bones vanish once again. She cursed under her breath as the Eliksni stumbled, but remained standing; greenish yellow ichor spilling from the open slashes Lily's sword had made. Turning on her heel, the Warlock dived back behind her previous cover, only to find several Shanks and a Vandal waiting for her. She cried out in pain as they rapidly fired their own Arc based energy at her, the Vandal taking advantage of her momentary surprise to bury its Shock Blade into her side just as her overshield gave way to the barrage of attacks.

Gasping down a breath through the haze of pain, she swung her sword through them like she had done to their leader. The Shanks fell to the ground, cleaved in half, along with the Vandal. Lilianna yanked the Shock Blade out and barely heard the clattering it made as it bounced against the rocky cavern floor.

"Guardian," Crow's voice suddenly filtered through the comm, a concerned note to his tone. "Another Captain has appeared, but it is sticking close to Savek. I will try to draw it away or take it down."

Lily could only grunt her approval as she focused her attention on pulling her Light outside of herself, letting it pool around her feet in a brilliantly bright wave of healing energy. It washed over her, knitting flesh back together and purging the still pulsing Arc energy from the Shank's attacks out of her muscles. Now that she was a bit more refreshed she was ready to jump back into the fray. Peeking around the edge of her cover she could see where Crow was taking shots at the Captain. It was still hanging close to the much larger Wrathborn Eliksni, but away enough that she felt she could finish it and hopefully bring this whole hunt to an end.

Running and jumping her way over to Crow she gave him a quick pat on the back, letting him know she was good to go, before leaping directly at the Captain. Bringing the giant sword down from above she cleaved it in half, spraying herself and the surrounding area in what she was from now on just going to call Wrathborn ooze. For the third time there was the itching, the voices, and the feeling of being empowered in a new way. 

"Time to light this jerk up!" the Warlock shouted, letting her sword clatter to the ground as she faced both of her open palms to the rampaging not-Archon. She felt her own Light intertwine with the Wrathful energy and cover her in sparkling, electric energy. From her open hands burst forth a ray of Arc energy, flooding the small tomb with bright blue-white light. Even through her helmet, Lily could smell the now comforting scent of ozone.

Just as suddenly as it started, the powerful beam of pure Light died down and in its wake was the now fallen Wrathborn. Little sparks of energy danced over the metal pieces of its armor, causing the multiple arms to twitch here and there when they struck muscle. Ori materialized in front of Lily, running a quick scan over his Guardian to ensure there were no other lingering injuries. 

"How many times have I warned you to not use the same cover twice? Every time you end up getting too close and personal to enemies," Ori scolded, floating right in front of Lily's covered face. She just sighed and rolled her eyes before turning her attention to Crow who had moved out from his hiding place.

"You okay?" Lily asked as he approached her.

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied, sounding distracted. Following his gaze, she found it focused on the now dead Eliksni.

"You said you knew this one?"

Crow nodded as he knelt down beside the corpse, removing his helmet and placing it on the ground. "Her name was Savek, she was a salvager Dreg working for Spider. We worked together a couple of times out on the Shore, but the last time I saw her she had already been lured in by Xivu Arath. I..." he paused and Lily remained silent, letting him take the time he needed to say what he wanted to say. It was impossible to mistake the sadness in his voice. 

"I was able to isolate and capture her hoping I would be able to learn what happened... hoping I could get through the madness and reach the Savek I knew, but..." Lily knelt down on the opposite side from him, but he refused to meet her eyes. "She fought so hard against the restraints I used to hold her that she nearly tore one of her arms off." Crow swallowed and Lily could see the way his throat jumped, watched as he brought a hand up to Savek's face to gently close her still open eyes. "I... I didn't know what else to do so I let her go."

He sounded like he wanted to cry, or maybe scream a bit, and Lily found her own eyes blurring with tears. Alya often joked that Lilianna could watch a puppy take a tumble while chasing a ball and she would start crying, but then always let her know it was that same empathic quality that set her apart from so many others. That it was something she should never let go and treasure. Being able to feel sympathy for another was not a weakness, but a strength. Watching Crow mourn the loss of his friend...

' _You're a lot more similar than you realize,'_ Ori murmured softly to her, and she found she couldn't disagree. Lily removed her own helmet, placing it gently next to her feet. She caught the surprise in Crow's eyes as they met hers for truly the first time.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, Crow. I wish there had been another way," she told him, voice gentle and sincere. The surprise slipped away and he looked at her with such immense gratitude it caused warmth to rise to her cheeks. 

"Thank you, Guardian. I... I'm glad you were able to grant her the peace that I could not."

"We'll put a stop to Xivu Arath's High Celebrant," Lily stated firmly, confidently, as she picked up her helmet and stood back up. She flashed him a small smile and held out her hand to help him stand adding, "And we'll do it together."

Crow looked up at her with surprise, eyes glancing from her smiling face to the hand in front of his own. She waited patiently, quietly, catching the way he seemed to gulp a bit nervously before finally grasping her outstretched hand with one of his own. Lilianna gave a small tug to help him up to his feet and he looked at her with a mixture of gratitude and determination as he said, "Yes... For Savek. For all the poor wayward Eliksni. And... for your friend, Sagira." Lilianna watched him head slip his helmet back on and make his way toward the main exit of the cave for a moment before replacing her own helmet and following after him. 

' _I am incredibly proud of you, Lily,.'_ Ori's mental voice conveyed as much, along with some dashes of happiness and hopefulness. Lily frowned a bit in confusion, ' _Why?'_

_'Because you essentially just promised Crow you'd hunt down the High Celebrant together as partners! As a team! I know you sometimes don't think before you speak, but please tell me you have at least been listening to yourself!'_

Lily playfully rolled her eyes before exhaling an amused sounding hum, ' _Hmmm..._ _Did I actually say that?'_

_'Lily...'_ Ori deadpanned into the link. However, he gave himself away by using the shortened version of her name, instead of saying it fully. That's when she knew she was _actually_ in some form of trouble. 

' _I know what I said. And I **did** mean it,'_ she replied, her mental voice soft, a little hesitant at formally admitting to what she just promised to herself. ' _Crow, he... he's not like Uldren at all.'_

_'He is definitely his own person,'_ Ori agreed, floating out to bob alongside Lily's helmet. The light from his core flickered in little patterned splotches against the reflective metal surface of her headpiece. Usually it bugged Lilianna. Something about the constant shifting light source in the corner of her eye triggered an irritation similar to if something was making a repetitive beeping noise. Right now, however, it didn't even register among the jumbled and tangled web of thoughts and feelings growing and expanding in her head. 

_'It... it's still gonna be weird. 'Cause he still looks like him and all that, but I think it'll be easier to keep my promise to you than I originally thought it was gonna be,'_ Lily admitted, smiling through Ori's cheerfully smug little _'I told you so!'_

Stepping out of the dark cave path and back out into the bright light of the Gulch, Lily blinked a bit as her vision adjusted. Crow was already out and waiting for her by his resummoned Sparrow. It was hard to tell completely, not being able to see his face, but something about his body language seemed off from just a few minutes ago.

"Something wrong?" Lily asked as Ori transmatted down her own Sparrow. The Awoken Hunter looked up at her and gave a sigh.

"Spider has an "important" job he needs me to do. Sooner rather than later. I won't be able to join you for any additional hunts today... or possibly in the future. He said you should be more than capable of handling them on your own based on the report I just sent him."

"What?! That... that's so stupid! Who is gonna tell me there's a crazy Wrathborn coming up from behind? Not to mention that you're the one who built the damned Lure. Who is gonna fix it when I inevitably break the thing?"

"Yes, Lily only believes in punching things until she gets the answer she wants. I doubt that will work well with a damaged piece of technology. Not that it's stopped her before though," Ori chimed in, front flaps opening and closing as he spoke. Lily just gave a big shoulder shrug because for once she really couldn't deny the accusations Ori just laid out.

"According to Alya I have the mentality and instincts of a Titan," was all she offered in explanation. At the very least it drew out a soft, but audible chuckle from Crow. 

"You two might have a better chance at convincing Spider that you need us during the hunts," Glint suggested, voice so optimistically hopeful Lily felt as though she couldn't deny him anything he asked for. "Not to mention that he could use some proper Lightbearer training!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lily held out her hands and made a time-out signal with them. "First part? Easy. Consider it already done. That second part though? I've never trained someone before. I have no clue how to even start that sort of thing."

An awkward silence fell between the four of them until Ori suddenly began to spin his rear shell in a happy little whirr. "Consider that part taken care of. Osiris has agreed to help with training Crow!"

"Wait, what?"

"Truly?"

"Oh! How wonderful!

Ori bobbed, turning in all directions as the other three all spoke at once. He made a loud little click before patching Osiris through to all of them.

"Your Ghost is correct. The Crow needs to be properly trained on how to use his Light if he is to become a proper Guardian. Since I already have quite the personal stake in bringing down the High Celebrant; no one should question my joining in on these hunts of yours." 

"Your expertise and knowledge will always be welcomed, Osiris," Ori replied, ignoring the withering look his Guardian was shooting his way both physically and mentally.

' _Kiss ass,'_ Lily mumbled into their private link. All she got was a smug sounding ' _Shhhh'_ from her Ghost. 

"Just make sure you give me at least a twenty-four hour lead time and I will make myself ready. We will speak more when that time arrives."

With that he clicked off the channel and Lily just shook her head, exhaling an exasperated sigh, "Typical. Can't even give us a little goodbye. Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Indeed," Crow added as he swung a leg over the seat of his make-shift Sparrow. "I would wish you luck dealing with Spider except I know Glint is right. The Baron would never openly admit it, but he does respect your power. If there is anyone who could convince him to let us keep helping, it would be you, Guardian."

"Lily," she shot back before requesting her own Sparrow be transmatted down. "If we're going to be teammates on this I'd rather you call me by my name..."

"As you wish, Lily," he replied, and Lily couldn't help, but feel as though he was smiling as he said her name. She gave a nod of acknowledgement before hopping onto her vehicle. "Cool, then with all that settled it's time for me to pay your boss another visit and remind him who is really running this show now."

Even as she revved up the engine of her Sparrow she could make out the increasingly familiar sound of Crow laughing. He gave her a quick wave of his hand before taking off and making his way across the bare bones landscape of the Gulch. 

"You're still smiling," Ori called out, hovering in front of her with the light of his eye narrowed a bit in amused accusation. "Seems like you're going to let Crow become a new friend after all."

"Maybe. I haven't fully decided yet."

"Uh-huh, whatever you say then."

He didn't sound convinced, but then again no one knew her better than her Ghost. Ori knew when Lily was or wasn't being fully truthful. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to keep something truly to herself one hundred percent. After so many years spent intimately linked with one another, there wasn't anything they could really hide from each other anymore. While Lily was an open book to Ori, he was equally one to her. Despite that, she still found herself pleasantly surprised at the glimmer of pride she felt trickling from him.

As much as she loved making Alya and Teddy proud of her... it always meant so much more when she felt it coming from Ori himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I super appreciate all your comments and kudos and seeing all the hits!!
> 
> Updates might come a bit slower now that my job is opening back up, but I am already itching to write the next chapter so fingers crossed we're not too busy.


	4. It's ooze not energy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out! Between work opening back up, needing to study for a big exam AND the new season dropping I've struggled a bit with focusing writing. I actually wrote most of this on my phone during lunch breaks haha! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, left comments and kudos! They all mean a lot to me and I appreciate them all!!

It took little to convince Spider that Lilianna would continue to require Crow's assistance on hunts. Honestly, it was more of her reminding him that he promised to lend her the "resources" she would require to get them done. Implying that Crow and Glint were nothing more than a resource to her had been Ori's idea. Given their previous experiences when it came to Spider, and the way they had already seen and heard how _he_ viewed Crow, the Ghost argued it was better to keep up the image of not wanting much to do with the other Lightbearer outside of his usefulness with the Lure.

' _If he realizes that you're becoming friendly he might start using the threat of blowing up Glint to make us do things we don't want to do,'_ Ori had explained when Lily expressed her initial distaste at treating the other pair as nothing more than useful tools. ' _I know it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but I promise you, this_ ** _is_ **_the best course of action to take.'_

Ori rarely made promises he couldn't keep and so Lily knew she could trust his judgement on this situation. Even if it left her feeling as gross as the Eliksni looked. After they had gotten Spider's approval Lily had Ori send a message to Glint to plan out their next hunt. There was no mistaking the gleeful undertone in the other Ghost's voice when he responded, nor the soft gratitude in Crow's.

\-----------------------------------------------

The next few hunts followed a pattern similar to their first. Start with the cryptolith on Thieves Landing. Fight an angry Wrathborn until it decides to up and flee. Trail it back to it's hiding place elsewhere on the Shore. Lure it back out, finish it off, then deal with an even bigger, angrier Fallen Wrathborn. Rinse and repeat until the Lure ran out of juice and needed to be recharged.

Even though she was doing a majority of the fighting, Lilianna found she didn't mind it. Honestly, it was a nice break from dealing with Eramis' House of Salvation and of trying to gain some form of confidence in wielding the Darkness. Not to mention that Crow's voice was much more pleasant to hear during battle than Variks' was. Or, well, it was more of all that insect-like chittering he made. It was distracting!

Although, Crow sometimes said things that seemed to rip the ground up from under her feet.

"I swear... it's almost as if he _does_ remember who he was, or has at least heard what Uldren did. Like what he said about the Scorn during our last hunt... how they "fear" him? That it's supposedly because of Spider's sigil?"

"That seems more like him drawing a natural conclusion to why the Scorn treat him differently than any other Guardian who strolls up along the Shore," Ori tossed back in a very matter of fact way. Lily frowned as she absent-mindedly tossed a Solar grenade from one hand to another humming a note of uncertainty under her breath. She sidestepped some shots from the rather upset sounding Acolytes clustered beneath the ledge of Hive ship wreckage she was currently pacing on.

Her face twisted a bit in thought until she snapped a finger and dropped the Light powered fireball down onto them. It immediately became stuck to the head of one and the rest screeched, attempting to scramble away before it detonated. They found themselves unsuccessful and no more shots came Lily's way as she jabbed a finger in Ori's direction.

"Okay, fine, how about what he said when Osiris explained how cryptoliths corrupt minds? By granting desire?" 

"What about it?" Ori replied, the top half of his outer shell rising a bit much like how one raises an eyebrow in question.

"Crow said he would rather die than be all twisted by ambition. You can't tell me that's drawing a conclusion to anything."

" _Or_ maybe that is just how he honestly feels. You feel the same way on that topic don't you? Isn't that why you're able to withstand the full allure of the Darkness?"

Lily found herself unable to meet her Ghost's piercing gaze. Instead she stepped back to slide down against a still intact piece of the downed ship's outer hull. Ori might believe she was holding her own against the whispered promises of power, of salvation, whenever she communed with those giant shards of Darkness, but Lily had begun to let fear sink its teeth into her heart. It was the one thing she had been able to keep to herself. Little moments of uncertainty and wariness sometimes slipped through to the little Ghost. However, the deeper, darker parts she fought mental tooth and nail to keep from him. 

To protect him from its corrupting influence.

He told her time and time again how nervous their work with Stasis made him. How he worried about her. Feared if she went too far he wouldn't be able to bring her back. That he felt it pulling him away from the Traveler, from the Light. Even just the memory of the way the Darkness spoke through him in the Pyramid ship pained her. While she knew it was important to learn how to use the Darkness to her own advantage, she feared losing Ori to it.

Not to mention there was so much pressure to prove she could balance and wield both the Light and the Dark. Pressure to not succumb to its haunting siren song and arsenic laden honeyed words.

If she failed... if she let it take too much from her...

' _What if I end like he did? What if **I** become twisted by desire, by ambition? What if I lose myself? What if I lose Ori?' _A wave of panic hit her and the words slipped from her mental refuge into their link. In her helmet she could hear her breathing pick up, feel her pulse began to race uncomfortably quick. ' _No, no, I need to keep it together... keep it together...'_

Ori drifted directly in front of her face, his singular blue eye somehow able to stare down into both of her own. It closed and he gently pressed himself to her helmet, pushing against where her forehead was hidden behind glossy metal. She could imagine the gentle warmth of his shell against her skin. A reminder of the Light that filled him. Lily could feel her panic ebb away as that warmth washed over her anxious mind.

"Lilianna... you won't. I _know_ you won't. You are always so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You continue to surprise even me! I... I owe you an apology though," Ori drifted back a bit, shell tips drooping to match the more somber tone of his admittance. 

The Warlock tilted her head in surprise before holding out her hands to gently take hold of him, bringing him back in close, "An apology for what?"

"From the start we've been warned not to let our emotions take over, but... that's exactly what I've been doing. I've been so worried about the Darkness hurting us that I've been blind to the damage _I've_ been causing. I'm your Ghost. Light, Dark, it doesn't matter. We're a team and I will always have your back, Lilianna. I promise I will be better at supporting you as we continue to fight Eramis and learn to use Stasis."

Lily carefully ran her thumbs along the sides of his shell, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. She brought the little Ghost to her chest, hugging him against heart.

"Looks like we've both been scared about working with Darkness," Lily admitted, looking up towards the slowly darkening sky. "I'm sorry too, Ori. Even knowing how you've felt, I've kept pushing us because it's seemed like there's been no other choice. It still feels like that, but... I do want to keep fighting. I want to protect our family, our friends, and everything we care about. It... I'm just scared about what would happen if we fail. If I fail. I can't bear the thought of losing you, Ori."

Ori tilted himself to peer up at his Guardian from her cupped hands, "You'll always have me, Lilianna. No matter what I will never leave you."

Lily looked back down at her little partner and smiled. It felt as though a substantial weight had been lifted from her shoulders. There was still some there, but it wasn't nearly as crushing as it had been before. Letting Ori float free she pushed herself back up to her feet.

Angry chittering noises erupted from below. It seemed the smoldering viscera left from the grenade earlier had drawn out some more of the Hive. Lily formed another glowing ball of Light and like the one before, tilted her hand so it rolled over her finger tips to fall on the grumbling monsters below. Some of them managed to skitter away, while others lost a limb or two to the Solar explosion.

"Osiris and Crow should be almost done with their training today. Let's go get this next hunt started."

\----------------------------------------------- 

Today Crow looked over his shoulder with an excited smile as Lily knocked against the wall of his cramped quarters. It caught her off guard for a moment, just as it did the very first time she saw him grinning ear to ear after he figured out how to forge his Light into brilliantly bright, fiery Solar knives. Lily found herself returning the smile even though she knew he couldn't see it through her helmet. 

"You just missed Osiris," Crow informs her as he turns to face her properly. Glint materializes and Ori does as well, the pair flitting up above their Guardian's heads. "He's been teaching me a Hive dowsing ritual so we can map out the interdimensional pathways through the Ascendant Plane. Use what we're learning about the cryptoliths to track down the High Celebrant."

"That's good to hear. It can be unnervingly easy to get lost in that place," Lily replies as she takes a seat on a nearby drum filled with honestly who knows what sort of liquid. It's nothing smelly at least.

Crow's smile switches from excitement to something a little more prideful, and the Warlock can't help how the corners of her own grow even higher as he tells how Osiris proclaimed him a fast study. 

"When I asked him where he learned so much about the Hive, he told me not to ask questions I wasn't ready to have answers to." Crow chuckles, hands coming to rest on his hips, "I can see why people think he's kind of an ass." That line draws a giggle from Lily as she carefully kicks her feet a bit, her heels making soft _tmp tmp tmp_ noises against the metal drum. 

"He is, but he is also very smart, and clever. I can't think of anyone who knows more about the Vex then him. Eris might know more about the Hive, but she, uh, can be a bit overwhelming at times. Also long winded. Osiris is at least straight to the point."

"I hope Spider will allow him to continue your lessons," Ori chimes in, floating back down to rest on Lily's shoulder. "Not everyone gets the chance to be tutored by such a renowned Guardian."

Lily snorts, "More like such a notorious Guardian."

"I'm glad he agreed to my request to train you," Ori continues, ignoring his Guardian's little snipe.

"Yes, thank you very much for that!" Glint replies, making happy little circles above Crow's head before settling down on top of it and wiggling all, but one particular bulging wingtip. Lily can feel Ori's mutual anger bubble up as they both catch it. 

"Well then, shall we get started? Osiris said you've figured out how to track some of the Hive Wrathborn now."

Crow gives a sharp nod, which sends Glint tumbling from his perch. The young Hunter is quick though and catches him effortlessly. Lily can feel herself smiling again as Glint thanks his Guardian as though it wasn't Crow himself who knocked him off. 

' _The more I see them interact, the more perfect they seem for each other,'_ she remarks gently to her own partner. 

' _It isn't just happenstance that we are only able to truly bond with one specific Guardian. I was made for you. Just as Glint was made for Crow.'_

_'Well, you **are** my favorite Ghost. Although... Glint runs a close a second,' _Lily teases. ' _Along with Poro and Chul of course.'_

Ori's mental voice is more of a half-hearted grumble when he shoots back with, _'You might as well just start listing every Ghost we've met because there hasn't been one you haven't found charming.'_

Lily pushes herself off the makeshift seat she made and stretches her arms up a bit as Crow follows her out of the workroom. They both do their best to slip out without attracting Spider's attention, however luck doesn't seem on their side in that regard this time around. 

"You're going to the Dreaming City today... are you not?" he wheezes, voice seeming a bit more rough around the edges through his rebreather today. Crow is quick to turn on his heel, bowing before the hulking Eliksni.

"Yes, Baron, we are. With the materials we gathered after our last hunt I was able to synthesize a new Lure mod that should attract higher ranking Wrathborn."

Spider waves one of his upper arms dismissively, "Just remember when you are expected to report back. You know the consequences if you are... late."

Lily doesn't miss the way Crow's entire body tenses when Spider emphasizes that last word in particular. Or how Glint has hidden himself from view. Just as the tension in the room begins to grow uncomfortable Crow gives another low bow and affirms he remembers. When he turns back towards the exit Lilianna catches the brief flicker of fear in Crow's expression before he slips back into his usual, more pensive mask.

It's not until they've transmatted onto the _The Delilah_ and are flying towards the Dreaming City that Lily finds the courage to ask about just what sort of consequences Spider was referring to earlier. She almost immediately regrets it when Crow tenses up once again and she catches the way his fingers dig into the fabric of his pants.

"It-it's nothing you need to be concerned about," he replies, voice quiet, but holding a stern note. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself instead of Lily. "Spider simply has... high expectations he sets for all who work under him. In his line of..." She waited quietly as Crow was clearly attempting to think of how he wanted to phrase the rest of his reply. "... _business..._ failure can mean the difference between a big gain or a big loss."

For a moment she considered telling Crow he didn't need to sugar coat his words around her, but she felt sure enough in her assessment of Spider to read between the other Lightbearer's words and body language. As she navigated past some asteroids silence fell between them as those unsaid words floated and bounced around her mind.

' _What are the odds that Spider's punishment is more than just threatening to blow up Glint?'_ she asked Ori, mental tone sharp like a knife.

' _Highly probable unfortunately '_ was all he sent back. 

For the rest of the short flight to the Dreaming City all that could be heard was the quiet hum of _Delilah's_ engines and the occasional beeps and blips from the ship's console. As she began to chart a landing course a video call popped up on the monitor and Lilianna let out a surprised yelp as the face of her teammate Teddy came into view.

"Well that sure ain't the grand greetin' I was expectin'" the Exo huffed, looking a bit put out as Lily scrambled to yank the blanket off the back of her chair. She chucked it at Crow who needed no explanation before ducking under it to hide himself from view.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who you tryin' to hide in there lil' one?" 

"N-no one! Must be a bad connection, I have no idea what you're talking about," Lily lied as she attempted to act as nonchalant as possible. Teddy's bright green optics dimmed for a moment. He clearly wasn't buying her terrible misdirection at all.

"Here I am _tryin'_ to check in on ya, make sure you ain't gettin' yerself into new fresh trouble and what do I get? Suspicious strangers in yer jumpship! Actin' all caught in the act! _Lyin' words!_ Why it's enough to make a grown Exo cry!"

Lily gave a small roll of her eyes as Teddy threw his arms up into the air, face plates moving to better express his dismay. "We both know that's not possible," she quipped back without thinking, wincing after the last word slipped past her lips. The very dramatic, hurt sounding gasp flooded the cockpit and Lily let her head fall back against the headrest of her seat.

" _Lilianna Jasmin Tulip Fiore!_ " he cried, grabbing his Ghost so the screen was filled with just the glow of his green eyes. "You wound me young lady! What would Alya say? She'd have ya out pickin' up litter from the Cosmodrome fer a year straight! Now ya better come clean right this instance before lil Poro and I come hunt ya down."

Before Lily could even begin to try and think of how to explain just what was going on, Crow emerged from under the blanket with his helmet on. Leaning halfway out of his seat to get into proper view of the monitor he gave a rather shy wave of his hand.

"Hello there, uhm, sir. I believe I am the suspicious stranger in the jumpship you were referring to?"

The change in Teddy's demeanor was instant. He backed away, his upper plates rising in a show of surprise, "Lily, is that a _boy_ in yer ship?!"

Lily groaned audibly, her hands coming up to catch her helmet covered head in pure, utter dismay. Why was this happening? Surely she didn't deserve _this_ much absolute embarrassment in her life. She could hear Teddy continuing on about feeling hurt that he had to find out about this "mysterious man" like this. That he thought he raised her better than this.

Thankfully, Ori wasn't being crushed by such intense emotions and he materialized with a soft flash of light. "This is Crow, he's a New Light working us on hunting the High Celebrant."

"I thought cooky ol' Osiris was helpin' ya'll with that gig?"

"He is! Crow is helping too though. He built the Lure we use to hunt the Wrathborn. We are actually getting ready to land and start our next hunt so we will need to get going. I promise Lily will report in to you once we're done!"

Teddy was quiet as he glanced between Lily, Ori, and Crow. Finally he waved a hand dismissively in the air, "Awright, but if ya renege on that promise it won't be just Poro and I comin' fer ya. Alya insists you two not miss another family dinner night. Heard?"

"Heard," Lily and Ori both answered together, one exasperated and the other cheerful.

"Crow, ya better make sure nothin' happens to my sweet lil water Lily. If ya think Osiris is a tough ol' bastard, ya haven't been at the end of my Spectral Blades. Ya hear me?"

"Heard?" Crow answers after some brief hesitation. 

Before Teddy can say anything else Lily cuts the feed and curtly instructs Ori to send a message to Poro that she will contact them after the hunt. Once that is settled Lily focuses her attention on landing _Delilah_ in a remote area not too far from the Divalian Mists. Crow is mercifully quiet during that time. At least until they step out from the confines of the jumpship cockpit.

"So... Should I be concerned about your... partner?" he asks, voice uncertain and Lily could all too easily imagine the expression on his face and it did nothing to stop the amused snort that escaped her.

"He's not my partner," she laughed. "At least, not like _that_. Teddy is... well, he's probably the closest thing a Guardian could ever get to a father figure. Same with Alya, she's kinda like my mom. _They're_ partners though," Lily explains quickly, praying to the Traveler that they can both somehow pretend the last ten or so minutes didn't just happen. "I, shit, I'm really sorry about all that. I guess I lost track of how long it's been since I last spoke with them. Don't worry though, I promise he won't be coming after you. Warlock's honor!" 

It was a relief to see Crow's posture relax and hear an amused chuckle. "That's good to know. I was honestly a little scared. He... he cares about you a great deal, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, they both do. Teddy is a lot more expressive about it though. Embarrassingly so sometimes," Lily finished with a sigh. "So, you mentioned yesterday in your message that the cryptolith we're looking for is in the Mists?"

Thankfully Crow didn't question the sudden change in subject.

"Mm-hmm. We intercepted reports sent between some of the Corsairs around the area. Wrathborn have been seen in increasing amounts the last few days. I think all the work we've put in taking down the Eliksni forces has spurred the higher command into more direct action."

"Hopefully this means we're getting closer to tracking down or flushing out the High Celebrant."

"We're definitely on the right path. Osiris is certain of that much at least," Crow confirmed as he begun to lead Lily over the rocky, most covered landscape. While Crow was focused on their destination, Lily kept her eyes peeled for any signs of other Guardians or Awoken. Her biggest concern was them coming across Petra. If she worried about how Zavala and Ikora would react to hearing about who Crow used to be, it was nothing to the fear she felt when imaging Petra discovering the truth.

Thankfully things seemed relatively quiet at the moment outside of the occasional Guardian here and there hunting down lingering packs of Scorn. With Crow's helmet firmly in place no one spared them a second glance other than giving a wave or a thumbs up.

Approaching the cryptolith, Lily held out her hands for the Lure and grunted when its hefty frame was transmatted down. She waited until Crow had found a good, high perch to run reconnaissance and snipe anything that threatened Lily. Once he was set she raised the Lure above her head before slamming it into the squishy roots of the living machine.

Crow had been spot on with his work. The Wrathborn that scrambled from the torn portal were indeed Hive. The biggest of them was unfortunately one of Lily's least favorite to deal with.

"Ughhhhhhh," she dismally groaned into the comm. "I _hate_ Ogres!!"

Crow gave an amused chuckle before blowing the heads off a few Acolytes. Lily sighed as she jumped into the air, hovering above a pack of thralls as she fired arrow after arrow into them. Eventually the continual tug of metal shafts over the string began to spark with Arc energy and her next few bolts crashed into the hissing, growling pack of Hive with bursts of electricity. 

"Behind the cryptolith is one glowing with excess Wrathborn energy."

"Correction, I believe you mean to say it's extra stuffed with Wrathborn ooze," Lily teased as she floated down behind the extremely angry Knight. She cut it down with her own sword and felt the now all too familiar itchy tingle of the Wrathful energy.

"I believe I told you I refuse to refer to it like that."

Lily gave a short laugh as she charged the Ogre with her sword. Swinging it wide she caught it in it's leg, but quickly found it literally stuck in the creature's thick skin. It roared with pain and sent Lily flying into a nearby boulder as it kicked the injured limb in pained fury.

As her back connected with stone she felt the air violently pushed from her lungs and she gasped as her overshield was broken. Before she could even take a breath the air around her became dark, heavy and absolutely putrid. She could vaguely make out the shape of a Wizard before it shot her full of dark blasts.

Gritting her teeth, Lily drew on her Light to form a Solar grenade in her hand. However, instead of throwing it she squeezed down on it, willing the energy to be healing instead of damaging before slamming it into her chest. Soothing warmth filled her and she was finally able to catch her breath to stumble out of the heavy poison cloud. Once free of its confinement she threw an arm out and a rift of healing energy flared to life below her. By now she barely noticed the little flares of pain as her body was rapidly healed with Light.

Grabbing her bow again she rushed back into the fray.

\-----------------------------------------------

Several hours of tracking and fighting later saw Lily standing a little singed, but victorious over the body of the Wizard Xillox. Breathing heavily she turned her gaze over to Crow who was hopping down from his sniping spot to join her. 

"That was impressive, Lily. Maybe if I had known you in my past life I wouldn't have died," he sincerely remarked as he kneeled down to collect various samples from the dead Hive creature. Lily suddenly found it hard to swallow as her mouth went dry.

' _Lily, breathe... he doesn't know. If he had found anything out Glint would have told us long before now.'_

"Ye-yeah," she finally managed, clenching and relaxing her hands a few times to try and get her nerves to settle down. "Maybe yes, maybe no. Hard to, uh, hard to say." 

When he looked over his shoulder at her she couldn't stop the way her body tensed. It wasn't hard to imagine the expression of confused concern on his face. The Warlock moved to use some of Xillox's stained robes to wipe off the excess ooze clinging to her own.

"I'm sorry, I said something careless again, didn't I?" Crow asked, his voice soft and small sounding.

"What do you mean?" Lily questioned back, keeping her gaze focused on the ratty Hive cloth in her hands as if it was something fascinating. 

She can see Crow shift his position and stand in her peripheral. When he answers his voice is somber and she finds herself upset at her inability to hide her feelings better. 

"I've noticed that sometimes you seem distressed when I said certain things. Glint likes to pretend he doesn't see, but I'm not blind. You become tense and... quiet. Distracted almost. I want you to know I appreciate the kindness you've shown me and I don't mean to make you... upset." 

Biting her lip, Lily turns her head to look up at him and wishes she could properly see his face. To see if _he's_ upset.

"Crow, I... I'm not upset. I mean, okay, maybe I am a little, but it's not at _you,_ " she forces herself to swallow past the lump in her throat. "I know you've said you never want to know anything about _him_ , but you should at the very least know we... we did know each other, but to put it simply we didn't get along. It was complicated. Sometimes there are things you say that remind me of him, but I _know_ in my heart you're _not_ him. My brain just takes a moment to remember that, that's all."

The space between them suddenly feels vast and infinite, broken only by the gentle whisper of wind and hum of bugs in the trees and grass. Crow ends up being the one to finally break the quiet and it's all to clear to her that he is forcing his voice to be steady and void of any true emotion.

"If it's preferable you could have just Osiris assist you during the actual hunts. I could remain on the Sho-"

"No," Lily cuts him off, pushing herself up to move in closer and take his hands in hers, squeezing them gently the same way Alya does when Lily is upset. "I like working with you, Crow. I really, _really_ do. I'm sorry I'm not better at explaining myself. I've never really been good at it, but know that I don't hold what he did against you. Well, okay, I did at first. Yes. But that was before I got to know you... and see you're not like him. Not at all," she finished softly. 

"You... you truly enjoy working alongside me?"

She nodded her head quickly, her chest tightening at how surprised his voice sounded. As if he honestly couldn't believe she meant what she had said.

"I do," Lily verbally agreed to make sure it sunk in completely. "You're much more fun to be around than Osiris for starters. He is always so serious and always thinks I don't take fighting seriously," she joked, drawing a quiet laugh from him. It brought on a rush of relief. 

"You don't always take fighting seriously though," Crow shot back with another chuckle, and Lily huffed before giving him a gentle swat on the arm. 

"Well, excuse me if I prefer to live my life _without_ a giant stick up my ass, okay?"

"I can't imagine how anyone would _want_ to live a life like that."

"I don't know, I'm starting to think you have at least twig up yours since you refuse to use _my_ excellent terminology. Wrathborn ooze is much more appropriate than plain, ol' Wrathborn _energy_."

Now it was Crow's turn to act offended, a hand coming up to press against his chest as if she had physically wounded him, "I am simply trying to be accurate in my description."

"Pretty sure ooze is more accurate," Lily argued, arms crossing over her chest. "And I would know because _I'm_ the one constantly being covered in it. I'm starting to worry I'll never get it all out of my robes!"

"Well, once I'm better at using my Light I'll be there next to you and can make a proper assessment."

"Oh, we don't have to wait that long."

Lily stepped over to one of the Hive Knight corpses still leaking green-yellow ichor and scooped up a handful of the very slimy, _oozing_ substance.

"Lily, wait a moment, perhaps I can make an ammendment?" Crow asked, stepping away from the Warlock with his arms out in a defensive plea. When he saw her wind up as if she was pitching a ball he took off in a sprint around the planters and Lily gave chase, yelling after him.

Following behind them their Ghosts called out like worried parents; warning their Guardians to slow down and watch their steps. By the end of the chase both Hunter and Warlock were sporting splotches of Wrathborn ooze and out of breath from running and laughing. 

As Lily laid sprawled on the cool soft grass she realized it was the most fun she had had in months. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was excited to introduce Teddy in this chapter and touch a bit more on the dynamics of Lily's Fireteam family!
> 
> Also, can any of you guess what Teddy's actual Exo style name is?


End file.
